New addiction!

Ok so recently I've heard people talking about etsy.com.....basically its kinda like ebay but its for mostly handmade and vintage things, and there is no bidding....so not really like ebay at all!! Maybe more like amazon? Anyway, it's an online market place and it truly is full of wonderful things!!

I've been spending quite a bit of my lunches browsing the site and so far have made 4 purchases in 1 month!

3 necklaces and a phone case! Haven't received 2 of the necklaces yet but its still within the delivery dates so just need to keep waiting!!

Absolutely love this necklace, took me ages to decide to buy it, only cost like £6 including postage.

The phone case came through the post this morning and it really is amazing! The fact that my phone fits (Samsung galaxy -humungus phone!) is a miracle!! And its so darn cute!!

Found some really amazing stuff on there like handbags designed to look like books, quirky jewellery and they even do wedding stuff!! 

I'm already eyeing up my next purchase - a vintage style apron....I have absolutely no need for an apron, however I would start wearing one when I cook just because I want a cute frilly one!! This is the one I like:

Update!! I've bought something else.....

Slow cooker roast chicken

Got a chicken this week so decided to try and find a recipe to do it in the slow cooker! I just googled "slow cooker roast chicken" and found this recipe. I have done slow cooked roast beef, but that's a recipe for another time!

This really is so simple - chuck it in the pot and leave it! No liquid needed because the chickens juices are enough to make gravy with! Maybe next time i'll sprinkle in a chicken stock cube...

Slow cooked roast chicken

Serves: however many!
Cook time: at least 7 hours

1 whole chicken - giblets removed
1tsp smoked paprika
1tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp salt
1tsp pepper
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 medium/ 2 small red onions - quartered


1. Mix the herbs, spices, salt and pepper and rub into the chicken.

2. Place the onion, garlic and a few foil balls in the bottom of the cook pot (this keeps the chicken off the bottom and burning!) then put the chicken on top.

3. Cook on high for 1hr then turn to low for at least 6 hours.



Completely forgot to take a picture of the finished, plated up meal, but it was lovely, a bit awkward to get out of the pot - it was so tender, the meat just fell off the legs and wings, so had to cut the off before attempting to take the rest out. Be careful if you are planning on using the juices to make gravy/sauce - may be better to strain it because there were lots of little bones and bit in the juices where it was so tender it just fell off the bone - bones fell off too!

Anyway, seriously, if anyone reads anything on here and tries out something, let me know!!!

Teriyaki Salmon

I've been fancying salmon for absolutely ages! So last night i made teriyaki salmon. Can't honestly remember where the recipe is from, I've been doing it for years! So easy to make and always goes down well!

Teriyaki Salmon

Serves: 2

Cook time: about 30 mins

2 Salmon fillets

1 pepper

1 red onion

juice of one lemon

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 tsp ginger

lots of soy sauce

Rice to serve

1. Mix together the lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Put the salmon into the mix to marinade.

2. Meanwhile put the rice on to cook and prepare the veg.

3. Fry the salmon until browned on all sides, then remove from the pan and put back into the soy sauce mix. 

4. Cook the veg and serve on top of the rice. Put the salmon and sauce back into the pan to finish cooking, and serve on top of the rice and veg.

Basque Chicken

It's been a while since my last post....I haven't really done anything new worth posting anyway. I have a new cooking toy now: a 3L Pyrex casserole dish. Seriously it's like a super dish: cooks on gas/electric/halogen hobs, oven, microwave, fridge/freezer/dishwasher friendly! 

So I HAD to find a recipe to use it, I found this Basque chicken recipe on Tesco Real Food website. As normal it is edited to suit what I have to hand. It's yummy. Did put a little bit too much chilli flakes in so it was quite spicy! We had it with bread & butter, but I reckon it would definitely work with potato and possibly rice.

Unfortunately though I completely forgot to take pictures until it was already in the pot! Here's how I made it:

Basque Chicken

Serves: 4
Cooking time 1hr 10mins

8 Pieces chicken (thighs/legs are recommended)
3 peppers (1 of each colour preferrably), sliced
2 medium red onions, thickly chopped 
1 leek, thickly chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
150g bacon, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp tomato puree
270ml chicken stock (I used Bisto squeezy chicken gravy paste diluted)
180ml red wine
1 tsp chilli flakes
Salt & Pepper to season

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a casserole dish and fry the chicken until browned. Remove the chicken and place to one side.

2. Heat the rest of the oil in the casserole dish, and add the veg and garlic and fry for a few minutes until soft. Add the bacon and fry for another few minutes.

3. Mix the tomato puree, stock, wine and chilli flakes in a jug, and pour over the veg. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for a few minutes.

4. Place the chicken on top of the veg/sauce mix, put the lid on tightly and cook in the oven for about an hour until the chicken is cooked through and the stock/wine has reduced.

Enjoy!

My new toy!

Hi all! I Wanted to show you my new toy!

So. As a very early birthday present, my lovely boyfriend bought me my CBT (compulsory basic training for motorcycles) and I passed! This means that I am now officially safe to ride a 125cc motorcycle on public highways.....God help us all!

It was a looooong day (08:30 - 5!) but after I passed, the boyfriend took me to view a bike that he'd had his eye on....I wasn't sure about it, but looking at his enthusiasm for it, I knew it was a good'un!!

So here she is:

This is my Honda NSR 125 RR (called her Nessa!) I had a ride on her Sunday afternoon, just round an empty carpark and I absolutely loved it! Had a few issues with turning left but i've just got to practise! hahah.

Satay Chicken

Saw this recipe the other week on Jamie Oliver's 30 min meals and knew i needed to try it! Unfortunately I don't yet own that book (soon.....) but i managed to find it online here!

This is seriously yummy! may make it with a bit more sauce next time though!

Serves: 4
Cook time: 30 mins

2tsp Coriander (the recipe says fresh, I used dry)
2 tsp chilli flakes (or a fresh chilli)
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
a good glugg of soy sauce
ginger (2cm fresh or 1.5 tsp ground)
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 limes
4 chicken breasts
runny honey for drizzling (I left this out!)
Rice or noodles & stirfried veggies to serve!

1. Zest both limes, and juice one of them. Add the coriander  chilli, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger and garlic and mix to form a paste (if using fresh coriander, you'll probably need to do it in a blender!)

2. Line the chicken breasts up on a chopping board. Gently and carefully push the skewers through the breasts. Slice between the skewers to give you 4 kebabs. Stick any odd bits on the ends of the skewers. Cover the kebabs with the satay mix, and grill for about 10 mins on each side until  cooked.

3. Serve with rice/ noodles and veggies!

Sweet and Sour Pork

I got this recipe from the slimming world website, and just tweaked it to what I had to hand! I seasoned the Pork with Jamie Oliver's 5-spice seasoning salt.

So here's how I made it!

I completely forgot to take any pictures this time! (i'll add them next time i make it!)

Serves: 4
Time: 30 mins plus 20 mins marinading

Pork fillet, cut into chunks
Generous sprinkling of 5-spice seasoning salt
1 red pepper, shopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp chinese 5-spice
4 tbsp tomato puree
4 tbsp light soy sauce
150ml chicken (or beef) stock
1 can pineapple chunks
1 tbsp gravy granules (to thicken)
4 egg noodle nests


1. Rub the pork with the seasoning salt, and marinade for 20 mins.

2. Fry the pork in a pan, then add the vegetables, and cook until soft. Meanwhile make the sauce by mixing together the stock, tomato puree, soy sauce, 5-spice, gravy powder and vinegar. 

3. Cook the noodles and add to the pan with the pork and veg and mix. Add the sauce to the pan and simmer until thickened. Add the pineapple to the mixture, then serve.

I was a little worried about how this would turn out, but it went down well so that's always a good thing!!